


Now and Always

by TheLegendOfChel



Series: The Lion's Flute [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon-Typical Violence, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hunk/Shay if you squint, Hurt/Comfort, It's not that bad I swear, Knight Lance (Voltron), Lance gets hurt but he makes it out ok, Legend of Zelda AU, M/M, Prince Keith (Voltron), Protective Keith (Voltron), Protective Lance (Voltron), White-Haired Keith (Voltron), you don't need to be super familiar with Zelda to read this fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-17
Updated: 2019-07-17
Packaged: 2020-06-30 01:41:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19842913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLegendOfChel/pseuds/TheLegendOfChel
Summary: When Lance is gravely injured, Keith must seek help from an ancient and powerful entity to save him.aka I really wanted Lance and Keith to meet a Great Fairy so I stabbed Lance. Sorry, Lance.





	Now and Always

**Author's Note:**

> This is an extra story that takes place sometime after the events of my Zelda AU, The Lion’s Flute. I highly recommend reading that fic first to get the most out of this one. You can find a link to the series at the top and bottom of the page.
> 
> As with The Lion’s Flute, you don’t need prior knowledge of Zelda to understand the story. It's a high fantasy setting, Keith is a magic prince/ninja, and Lance is his personal knight/bodyguard. That said, there are some Zelda elements that I don’t explain here because they were already explained in the previous fic. 
> 
> Enjoy! ❀(*´◡`*)❀

"Lance? Lance!"

Keith collapsed onto his knees to gather the hero's limp body into his arms.

"Nonononono," Keith muttered under his breath, brushing the matted, bloodstained hair from Lance's face. "Lance, please, wake up."

Keith wasn't sure what had happened. They were walking back towards Kakariko Village after visiting Hunk up on Death Mountain, Keith rolling his eyes and trying not to laugh at Lance's quips, when a group of Yiga clansmen suddenly attacked.

Normally, the Yiga were no match for them. Lance was the legendary hero chosen by the Goddess, and Keith was a trained Sheikah warrior. Granted, Keith was currently dressed as a prince and not as a ninja, but he was just as skilled with a sword as Lance, if not more so. Add in Keith's magic wolf, Kosmo, and few in Hyrule would be able to take them on and win.

But perhaps it was that self-assuredness that made Keith slip up. As he fought off one Yiga, he didn't notice another enemy sneaking up behind him until it was too late. Lance, however, did notice, and threw himself between them. 

When Keith saw the long twisted blade sink into Lance’s side, his mind went blank. All he could remember was a bright light, and when he came to, the Yiga were all gone and Lance was crumpled on the ground.

Lance let out a weak groan and his eyes fluttered open. He looked up at Keith and the tension in his body relaxed just a bit.

"Lance," Keith sighed in relief.

"You're okay," Lance raised a shaky hand to cup Keith's cheek.

"Yeah," Keith leaned into the touch. "Thanks to you."

Lance chuckled. "S'what I'm here for." Seemingly reassured that Keith was no longer in any danger, Lance dropped his arm back down and closed his eyes. "I'm pretty tired now. 'M gonna take a little nap."

"What?" Keith's smile slipped away. "No, Lance, don't go back to sleep. We have to get you to a healer. Lance? Lance!"

Kosmo padded closer and licked at Lance's hand, looking up at Keith with a small whine when the hero didn't stir.

"It'll be okay," Keith said, both to Kosmo and to himself. "Go get help, alright?"

Kosmo's ears perked up. He gave an affirmative bark and bounded away. Kosmo could only teleport short distances and he couldn't take others with him, but he was faster than any horse and would hopefully return soon with aid.

In the meanwhile, Keith turned his attention back to Lance, but no matter what he did, Lance wouldn't wake up. The prince frantically rummaged through their supplies, but they were out of fairies and potions. Keith was a powerful mage, but healing was outside his area of expertise. The most he could do was stabilize Lance for just a bit longer.

Desperate, Keith tipped his face up to the sky.

"Please," he whispered. "Hylia. Farore. Nayru, Din, anyone. Please help him."

There was no answer. 

Keith squeezed his eyes shut against the rising tears and clutched Lance closer to his chest.

Was this it? Lance fulfilled his purpose, defeated Zarkon, and now he was no longer necessary? Surely fate wasn't so cruel? But Keith could feel Lance's life force slipping away by the minute.

A delicate jingling sound made Keith's head snap up. Roughly wiping his eyes, Keith looked towards its source. 

At first, he thought it was a rabbit. Upon closer inspection, however, Keith realized the small creature glowed with a mysterious blue light. It had a face like an owl's and leaf-like antlers.

A Blupee. Keith had never seen one, but he’d heard rumors about the strange animals. Hunters claimed they couldn’t be killed, and merely dropped a handful of money if struck by an arrow or blade before vanishing in a flash of light. Many Hylians believed they were magical spirits created by the Goddesses.

Keith and the Blupee stared at each other for a long moment before the Blupee turned and began to hop away. It paused and looked back at Keith expectantly. 

Keith's eyes widened. He scrambled to pick Lance up, draping the hero's arms around his shoulders to carry him piggyback style. 

"Lead the way," Keith said, his eyes bright with new hope and determination. 

The Blupee hopped deeper into the forest. 

Keith followed it through the maze of trees, hyper aware of Lance's breath against his neck, and Lance's heartbeat against his back.

Soon they came into a clearing. Small fairies floated lazily through the air, and rare magical blue flowers dotted the grass.

But what caught Keith's attention was the large structure in the middle of the clearing. It looked like a huge flower, with enormous pink, velvety petals brushing the ground and vines unfurling in every direction. A path of colorful mushrooms led up to a deep pool of clear water in the center of the flower.

Keith glanced down at the Blupee with uncertainty. It stared back. Taking a deep breath, Keith walked up the mushroom ramp. He gently placed Lance down and kneeled to peer into the pool.

"Hello?" Keith called out. "Is anyone there?”

No answer.

“Please, my companion is injured,” he said. “He needs help."

More silence.

Just as Keith's hope began to wane, a sudden rumble shook the flower. Keith grabbed Lance so he didn't roll off and his jaw dropped when a huge figure burst from the water.

It was a giant, beautiful woman with brown hair and sparkling clothes made from plants and gemstones, though the lower half of her body remained submerged. Large hoop earrings dangled from her pointed ears, and she gazed down at Keith with warm, brown eyes.

"Greetings, little prince," she said in a sweet, melodious voice. "I am the Great Fairy, Shay. How might I serve you?"

Swallowing, Keith looked down at Lance. The Great Fairy followed his gaze and her eyes softened.

"Oh my," Shay sank deeper into the water so she could get a closer look at the boy in Keith's arms. "That is quite a terrible wound."

"Can you save him?" Keith asked.

Shay nodded, and relief flooded through the prince's body.

"Yes, you brought him to me just in time," she said.

The Great Fairy raised her fingertips to her mouth and gently blew a kiss at the Hylians. Flower petals danced around Keith and Lance as the Fairy's magic swept over them. Keith barely noticed his own minor injuries healing as he watched the color return to Lance's cheeks.

Blue eyes fluttered open.

"Keith?"

The prince let out a stifled sob and threw his arms around him. Lance seemed a bit confused, but returned the embrace.

“I thought I’d lost you,” Keith said. “Don’t ever do that again!”

“I mean, that might be hard since protecting you is literally my job,” Lance chuckled. Keith pulled away to glare at him and Lance raised his hands in a peaceful gesture. “But I promise to be more careful, how about that?”

Keith let out a small, “Hmph,” and burrowed back into Lance’s arms.

A loud bark suddenly drew their attention and the three turned to see Kosmo run into the clearing, a familiar Goron hot on his trail.

"You guys!" Hunk cried. "Oh, thank Hylia you're okay! Kosmo showed up and started making a fuss and something was clearly wrong so I followed as fast as I could and-"

The Goron paused, coming to a halt in front of the large flower.

"Woah," he said, staring up at Shay. The Great Fairy looked back at him curiously and offered Hunk a sweet smile.

Huh, Keith never knew Gorons could blush.

\-----

“Thank you again for your help, Shay,” Keith said.

“It was my pleasure,” Shay smiled. 

“Is there any way we can repay you?”

“Well,” Shay cupped her own cheek bashfully. “You need not feel any obligation, of course, but if you were to come back and visit, I would like that very much. And, if it is not too much trouble, a small donation of rupees now and then would be lovely. It is how I maintain my powers. Hylians used to visit and pay tribute every day, but that age has long since passed.”

“Of course we’ll come back,” Lance grinned. “And we’ll bring you plenty of rupees. Would gemstones work too? Hunk here works in the Goron Mines. I bet he could bring you all the rubies and sapphires you want.”

While Hunk sputtered, Shay tilted her head.

“I have never received gemstones as tribute, but I suppose it would not hurt to try,” she glanced at Hunk. “If you do not mind.”

“Oh!” Hunk nodded. “Sure, I’ll bring some tomorrow!”

“I look forward to it,” Shay smiled.

Keith had a feeling Hunk was going to visit the fairy fountain a lot in the foreseeable future. For now, the prince dug into his wallet and tossed a handful of red rupees into the pool. 

“Oh, thank you,” Shay said, glowing a bit brighter. 

With her powers replenished, Shay insisted on magically enhancing Lance and Keith’s gear before they left. Once she was done, they said their goodbyes and returned to the inn in Kakariko Village. 

Lance removed his weapons and gear, and flopped onto the soft bed with a sigh.

"Well, almost getting killed wasn't fun, but I'm glad we got to meet Shay," Lance said. "I always thought Great Fairies were a myth. Guess I should know better than to assume by now, huh?"

Keith didn't answer. He set his own sword and shield aside and crawled across the mattress to settle next to Lance. Keith's hands trembled ever so slightly as he pulled up the hem of Lance's tunic to brush his fingers against Lance's dark skin. Shay's magic had erased all evidence of the wound, not even leaving a scar, but the memory of that twisted blade sinking into Lance's side was still fresh in Keith's mind.

A warm hand grasped his, and another cupped Keith's cheek, tilting his face up to look into Lance's solemn blue eyes. 

"Hey," he said softly, "it's okay. I'm okay."

“I thought…” Keith blinked hard against the burning tears threatening to overflow.

Lance made a concerned noise and drew Keith into his arms, stroking his ivory hair as the prince trembled.

“I was so scared,” Keith whispered. “I could feel you slipping away, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I was useless.”

Lance’s embrace tightened around him. “You weren’t useless. You got me to Shay, didn’t you?”

“Only because of the Blupee,” Keith sniffed. “I think one of the Goddesses must have sent it to answer my prayers.”

“Well, there you go,” Lance pulled away slightly to smile down at Keith. “You used your magic Prince-of-Destiny powers and got Hylia or somebody to save my life. I would have died if it weren’t for you.”

“You wouldn’t have gotten hurt in the first place if it weren’t for me,” Keith pointed out.

Lance rolled his eyes.

“Babe, we’ve been over this,” he said. “I’m your bodyguard. It’s my job to jump in front of dangerous pointy objects.”

“That doesn’t make it any less terrifying,” Keith muttered.

Lance’s smile returned, soft and so full of love that it made Keith’s breath hitch. Warm hands cupped Keith’s face as Lance gently brushed his thumbs across Keith’s cheekbones, wiping away the trails of tears.

“I know,” he said. "Believe me, I do. I can't promise it won't happen again, because I'll never stop trying to protect you, Keith. Even if it means my life."

A strangled, wounded noise threatened to crawl out of Keith's throat, but Lance continued before it could break free.

"But that won't happen," he said, his sharp eyes piercing into Keith's very soul with unbridled confidence, "because I have you. We'll protect each other, just like we did today. We're a team, now and always."

Fresh tears spilled down Keith's cheeks, and he threw his arms around Lance's neck, holding on like his life depended on it. At that moment, it felt like it did.

Lance looped his arms around Keith's waist, squeezing just as tightly as he buried his nose in Keith's hair.

"Now and always," Keith repeated. 

Keith pulled back to look at Lance, admiring the handsome curve of his smile and those blue, blue eyes. Leaning forward, Keith's own eyes fell shut as he pressed his lips to Lance's, pouring every emotion swirling inside of him into the kiss.

He didn't know what the future would hold. There would no doubt be more adventures, and the danger that came with them. But Keith knew that no matter what happened, he would love and protect Lance with every bit of magic and skill he had.

In this life and every other.

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be a cute little extra about Keith and Lance meeting a Great Fairy, but it somehow turned into hurt/comfort. 
> 
> ...At least there’s schmoop at the end to make up for the angst? 
> 
> The next installment of the Lion’s Flute series will be much more lighthearted, I promise, lol. If you're interested, please subscribe to me or the series, and check out my other works for more klance!
> 
> If there's something you'd like to see in this series, feel free to drop me a comment! I'm always open to suggestions about potential oneshots, since this AU holds a special place in my heart. I could write it forever. (๑¯◡¯๑)
> 
> See you next time! (ﾉ´ヮ´)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧


End file.
